Richard Crouse

Roll out the red carpet from your doorstep and make Oscars night as memorable for your friends as it is for the stars.

Hosting an at-home Oscars party can involve anything from a five-course meal in designer duds to having your guests feast on popcorn as they gather around the TV set.

Canada AM film critic Richard Crouse never misses an opportunity to celebrate the biggest night in Hollywood.

“The Oscars are like the Super Bowl for movie fans. Football fans get to eat wings and drink beer for the Super Bowl — so why shouldn’t movie fans have the same excuse to whoop it up once a year?” says Crouse.

But whether he’s hosting an at-home party or a swanky affair at The Drake Hotel, he only has one rule for guests — no talking during the show.

“No conversation that isn’t directly related to what’s happening on the show is permitted,” says Crouse.

While this won’t be a problem for a film buff like Crouse, how does he make sure his guests follow the same rule?

“Well they have to be carefully selected,” Crouse says with a laugh. “People who are huge film fans like me take the awards very seriously so you have to invite people who are thinking along the same wavelength.”

Crouse, who likes to dress up in a tux for Oscars night, says a good Oscars party always includes watching the red carpet (the etalk Red Carpet special begins at 6:30 pm ET on CTV). Not only is it a great warm-up to the big event, it allows the guests to get all of the chit chat about what everyone’s wearing out of the way before the show begins.